Increasing mileage

Most people understand the 10% Rule, even if there's some disagreement on it.

Most people also understand the Hard-Easy Rule, even though they might disagree with how many hard weeks should be done before you take a rest week (3 hard - 1 easy, or 4 hard - 1 easy?).

But both of those apply to a relatively short time-scale -- I mean, on the scale of week-to-week or across a training cycle of a couple weeks.

What I'm wondering about is, does anyone know of a "Rule" or a guideline they've heard for how quickly it's safe to increase mileage on a macro scale -- as in, over the course of many months. By that I mean, is it safe to increase weekly mileage by 10 mpw per month. As in, month 1, 10 mpw, month 2, 20 mpw, etc... More specifically, is it unreasonable to expect that I could build from very little running (maybe 8-10 mpw) to regularly doing 40 mpw in 8-10 months?

It sounds reasonable to me, but I still tend to have a bunch of very small aches here and there. No injuries, nothing that has caused me to skip a day, reduce mileage or even ease off the pace. Just little things like slightly, very minor achy feet at the end of a long day, or first thing in the morning -- little stuff. I figure if it were a problem with footwear (wrong shoes), or form, I'd probably be hurt by now (at least once, I'm sure), because over those 10 months, I've logged almost 1,200 miles. So, I figure it's nothing to really worry about.

But it still leaves me with the question of: Is this from too-much-too-soon, or just that running is going to leave me with at least a little discomfort. I'm tending toward thinking it's the latter, but I still wonder if it might be a little bit that building up to 40 mpw over 8 months might have been fast. I don't know, and perhaps you won't either, but that's what forums are for, right?

I started this year at about 7-10 miles a week and slowly built up to my current milage of just under 40 (I'm following a training plan that has one cut back week every 4 weeks, I go over 40 miles after next week.). I did however take two weeks off for a pulled groin and have regularly visited my running Doctor. I can use stairs etc without my knees killing me (last time I tried to increase my milage I always had a hard time with stairs - didn't know what I was doing and got injured). Most of what I am feeling when I run is tightness that does not change my gate and tends to be present for maybe the first 10th of my run, if that. I think the tightness is actually from increasing my speed in my training and not from the millage. (I was running 10:00-10:30 and now Im up to 9 in my tempo runs etc.)

Going from 10mpw to 40mpw over a 8 month period does not seem extreme to me. I would not run a month at10mpw and then at month 2 go to 20 mpw. I would gradually increase the mileage. Adding just 2 miles a week will get you to 40 just fine

I definitely agree. And that's why I suspect it's more likely that I've just been pushing too hard the last few weeks.

But, at the same time, if a guy were to start at 10 mpw, and increase 10% per week, with a cut-back week every fourth week, he would (mathematically) reach 100 mpw in just 10 months, and I doubt THAT'S safe (I could be wrong, though). But, I think it's safe to say that 10% per week isn't a perfect rule as the WHOLE story, so, I was just wondering if anyone had any sort of guideline they've ever heard or used as it would apply to long-term distance building.

My example isn't very typical, but I went from 6 mpw to 50+ mpw in a period of 3 months. I have maintained an average of 50-60 mpw for the past year (run 2750 miles over the past 12 months).

As the months have progressed, I have noticed less soreness. My body has gradually adjusted to my current mileage and run frequency, which has allowed me to increase the intensity of my runs. If I had the time and inclination, I'm sure my body could handle an increase in volume from my current level.

Your aches and pains might not be related to overall mileage. I'm not sure, since you didn't give any info. about it, but there might be problems with your weekly schedule that aren't giving your body a chance to get enough recovery. For example, your long run might be inordinately long for your overall mileage, or you might be either running your easy runs too fast, or including more hard workouts than your body can handle. You also might do better by spreading your mileage over more runs.

Like I said, it's hard to say, without more information.

If you have maintained the same mileage for a while, with the same intensity, your body should be adapting to the stress, which would mean less soreness and better recovery.

In some cases, I was following a fast running, good looking, seductively clad woman. In others, I was making a half-hearted attempt to do speed work, despite my absolute hatred of it. In any case, the following results are intended for entertainment purposes only, not because I'm trying to be the next Speed Racer of running.

I started running last March, and by the summer I was doing 40+ miles a week and training for my first marathon. I think it has a lot to do with age and fitness level. I had been going to the gym 6 days a week consistently for about 6 months prior to beginning to run. I'm also in my twenties; however, I broke the ten percent rule all the time. Sometimes I regretted it, but I learned I recover from injury pretty quickly. You are the only one that knows your body. Trust in its power and capabilities.

26 weeks ago I started at 20 miles for a week and I have added roughly 2-3 miles a week. I just finished a 70 mile week. It's not hard on my body because I kept all the miles at an easy effort. I've noticed that over the weeks that I have gradually gotten faster despite the exact same effort. And because I've added a constant amount of miles, the percentage of increase gradually decreases from week to week. In other words, I started at a 10% increase and the increase from last week was roughly 3%.

Going from 10mpw to 40mpw over a 8 month period does not seem extreme to me. I would not run a month at10mpw and then at month 2 go to 20 mpw. I would gradually increase the mileage. Adding just 2 miles a week will get you to 40 just fine

The best general rule I know is don't increase your mileage until you are comfortable at your current mileage. For most people this means 3-6 weeks. Of course at some point you never get comfortable, and at that point you don't increase any more.

I want to be at 40-50 miles per week soon. I just finished my second 30 mile week. I don't know if my 39 year old body will let me continue to progress as fast as I want to, but I will keep working on moving my milage up. I think until you get to 20-30 miles the 10% rule is not a fair assessment of what you are capable of doing. 30 and up you are beginning to take on more serious running distances 8-10 miles. I just add what feels right and let my body be the guide. Yesterday I did force my body to run 10 instead of listening to the I don't wanna, but nothing in my legs or other part was saying i'm injured don't run. I did crash yesterday and sleep for like 3 hours post run and then slept for another 9 hours at night. I think the crash had more to do with diet rather than increasing milage. I hope to get 35 in next week. My struggle now is running in the cold. I hate cold.

Cardiovascular fitness increases much more quickly than musculoskeletal fitness. Periodization of training gives your joints and bones time to adapt to the abuse of running.

10% and 3 hard 1 easy are guidelines or suggestions, not rules. They're very useful to someone like me who is prone to making stupid choices under the influence of endorphins. If you're paying attention to your body, you'll learn the difference between sore and hurt and the difference between stiff and impaired mobility. I figure I have many years of running to get to 50+ mpw if I want, so I increase mileage very, very slowly. I don't have much desire to run a half or a full marathon, but I do have a desire to run next week and next month.

Of course, to the OP and the rest of you, you're way faster than I and log way more miles, so sprinkle some salt on my comments as you read.

Cardiovascular fitness increases much more quickly than musculoskeletal fitness. Periodization of training gives your joints and bones time to adapt to the abuse of running.

Ah, yes! Precisely the crux of my original question. But, it seems from the array of answers thus far, no one seems to have heard or found for themselves a "rule of thumb" for how quickly that part of the development comes along. Perhaps that's just more individual than some of the other factors, so it's just too hard to say.

I definitely agree with everyone's repeated comment to listen to my own body and let it be the guide. I have a hard time with that, though. The part about distinguishing between soreness and pain, for example. But then again, since I've had no injuries, and only the morning soreness, perhaps what I've been doing is working out fine...

Cardiovascular fitness increases much more quickly than musculoskeletal fitness. Periodization of training gives your joints and bones time to adapt to the abuse of running.

Ah, yes! Precisely the crux of my original question. But, it seems from the array of answers thus far, no one seems to have heard or found for themselves a "rule of thumb" for how quickly that part of the development comes along. Perhaps that's just more individual than some of the other factors, so it's just too hard to say.

I definitely agree with everyone's repeated comment to listen to my own body and let it be the guide. I have a hard time with that, though. The part about distinguishing between soreness and pain, for example. But then again, since I've had no injuries, and only the morning soreness, perhaps what I've been doing is working out fine...

My profile is atypical for sure, as almost all runners want to progress at a much faster rate, but I would plateau for 6-7 weeks and then make rapid jumps to higher mileage. See my progressio to my 1st 100 mile week.

Cardiovascular fitness increases much more quickly than musculoskeletal fitness. Periodization of training gives your joints and bones time to adapt to the abuse of running.

Ah, yes! Precisely the crux of my original question. But, it seems from the array of answers thus far, no one seems to have heard or found for themselves a "rule of thumb" for how quickly that part of the development comes along. Perhaps that's just more individual than some of the other factors, so it's just too hard to say.

I definitely agree with everyone's repeated comment to listen to my own body and let it be the guide. I have a hard time with that, though. The part about distinguishing between soreness and pain, for example. But then again, since I've had no injuries, and only the morning soreness, perhaps what I've been doing is working out fine...

OP - I've bolded the significant findings in your post above. We are each an experiment of one. Last year I ramped my mileage up from 70 per month to 120, 150, 200. But like you, I've had no significant injuries so YMMV.

And for what it's worth, although I have not been able to find the article that specifically contains this, another part of the whole 10% rule is that this bit of commonly accepted knowledge comes from an interview way back when with Jack Daniels. The interviewer question was something along the lines of "And Coach Daniels, what is a good amount of increase for a runner, about 10%?" Answer "yeah, that sounds about right."

OP - I've bolded the significant findings in your post above. We are each an experiment of one. Last year I ramped my mileage up from 70 per month to 120, 150, 200. But like you, I've had no significant injuries so YMMV.

Wow. Quite different from my progression which is admittedly atypical. Curious what your yearly mileage was for 2012 and what you're averaging for 2013?

OP - I've bolded the significant findings in your post above. We are each an experiment of one. Last year I ramped my mileage up from 70 per month to 120, 150, 200. But like you, I've had no significant injuries so YMMV.

Wow. Quite different from my progression which is admittedly atypical. Curious what your yearly mileage was for 2012 and what you're averaging for 2013?

Make sure you read the MONTHLY in there. So that was slightly under 50 per week for one month.

2011 = 1,246

2012 = 1,643

2013 projected about 1,500

The 200 miles per month was my highest - that was in July. My first marathon was the end of August and I had another the end of October.